SOUTH WESTERN MUSTANGS GRIDIRON 2012-7

By Bill Engelhardt
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Last Friday evening, October 5, the Mustangs of South Western visited the den of the Wildcats of Dallastown to begin YAIAA Division I action for the season and were defeated 31-7. The teams were matched pretty evenly but Robert Catchings 90-yard kickoff return and 60-yard run, both for touchdowns, made a huge difference.

The first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter went by scoreless, with each team punting twice. The Wildcats did have a 32-yard drive to the Mustangs 20-yard line end with a missed field goal.

Drew Romesberg recovered a Mustangs fumble at their own 8-yard line for the Wildcats. Three plays later quarterback Andrew Henry plunged in from the 3-yard line. Josh Chronister’s extra point kick put the Wildcats up 7-0 at the 9:21 mark in the second quarter.

The Mustangs went three and out and punted and Malik Lewis returned the punt for 31-yards to the Mustangs 32-yard line for the Wildcats. The Wildcats turned the ball over on downs at the Mustangs 22-yard line.

The Mustangs then drove 78-yards in seven plays, featuring an 8-yard pass from Tyler Sterner to Jerome Robinson and a 15-yard run by Dillon Thomas. The drive ended with a picture perfect 35-yard touchdown pass from Sterner to Robinson. Jake Tracy’s extra point kick tied the score at 7 with 3 minutes left in the first half.

Robert Catchings returned the Mustangs kickoff 90-yards for a touchdown. Chronister’s extra point kick put the Wildcats up 14-7 with 2:45 left in the first half.

The Mustangs fumbled the ball away again and the Wildcats had it at the Mustangs 20-yard line. Three plays later Chronister kicked a 35-yard field goal, upping the score to 17-7 with 1:07 left in the half.

The Mustangs opened the second half by punting after 4 plays and the Wildcats drove 39-yards in four plays. The drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Andrew Henry. Chronister’s extra point upped the score to 24-7 at the 7:56 mark of the third quarter.

The Mustangs had a six-play 23-yard dive end with a punt. The Wildcats took over on their own 40-yard line. Catchings then dashed 60-yards for a touchdown and Chronister’s extra point kick closed out the scoring at 31-7 with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

The Mustangs had a 37-yard drive end with a turnover on downs. The Wildcats had a short drive end with a punt. The Mustangs started a drive on their own 4-yard line and Dillon Thomas ripped off runs of 23 and 19-yards but the drive ended with a turnover on downs.

Jake Tracy kicked off 2 times for 105-yards, with the longest going for 55-yards. Jerome Robinson returned 5 kickoffs for 69-yards, with the longest going for 18-yards. Brandon Utz punted 5 times for 168-yards, with the longest going for 40-yards for the Mustangs.

Aram Moffit, with 14 tackles and a pass hurry, led the Mustangs defense, followed by Payton Taylor with 9 tackles, Brady Shultz with 7 tackles, Eddie Lane and Dillon Thomas with 6 tackles each, Gunner Holtz and Chris Weibe, each with 5 tackles and a sack, Jerome Robinson with 4 tackles, Devon Ackerman with 3 tackles and a sack, Alex Jones, Ryan Krebs and Hunter Palmer with 3 tackles each, Ryan Lane and Gabe Morela with 2 tackles each, Joe Bond with 1 tackle, Mike Duffy and Matt Shanks each with a pass defense and Matt Helwig with a pass hurry.

Devon Ackerman, Alex Jones, Matt Helwig, Gunner Holtz, Eddie Lane, Aram Moffitt, Mike Mooradian, Gabe Morela, Dakotah Moses, Shawn Secola, Brady Shultz, Dillon Thomas, Aaron Uttley, and Chris Weibe, manned the offensive and defensive line and linebacker positions, with help from Joe Bond, Rich Bosse, Ryan Krebs, Ryan Lane, Ethan Paul, Josh Walker, Wayne Trostle, and Brandon Utz. Mike Duffy, Jordan Markle, Jerome Robinson, and Payton Taylor patrolled the secondary for the Mustangs, with help from Aaron Doll and Hunter Palmer.

The Mustangs gained 156-yards rushing and 101-yards passing for a total of 257-yards of offense. Quarterback Mike Duffy completed 4 of 11 passes for 39-yards and quarterback Tyler Sterner completed 4 of 5 passes for 62-yards and 1 touchdown, for the Mustangs. Jerome Robinson caught 5 passes for 71-yards (including a 35-yard touchdown from Sterner), Dillon Thomas caught 2 passes for 23-yards, and Gabe Morela caught 1 pass for 7-yards, for the Mustangs.

Dillon Thomas led the Mustangs rushing attack with 22 carries for 172-yards, followed by Dakotah Moses with 3 carries for 9-yards, Brady Shultz with 2 carries for 9-yards, Zach Osborne with 2 carries for 1-yard, Bret Hertzog with 1 carry for minus 2-yards, and Mike Duffy with 6 carries for minus 33-yards. Jake Tracy kicked 1 extra point for the Mustangs.

The Wildcats gained 185-yards rushing and 32 yards passing for a total of 217 yards gained. Quarterback Andrew Henry completed 5 of 11 passes for 32-yards, 3 for 18-yards to Malik Lewis, 1 for 8-yards to Nathan Strong, and 1 for 6-yards to Brady Altland, for the Wildcats.

Robert Catchings led the Wildcats rushing attack with 13 carries for 86-yards (including a 60-yard touchdown), followed by Henry with 14 carries for 56-yards (including touchdowns of 3 and 1-yards), Sean Roberts with 2 carries for 9-yards, Adam Deardorff with 3 caries for 8-yards, Josh Chronister with 1 carry for 8-yards, Alpha Kahn with 2 carries for 7-yards, Lewis with 1 carry for 6-yards, Addison Quinones with 1 carry for 3-yards, and Nathan Strong with 1 carry for 2-yards. Catchings returned a kickoff 90-yards for a touchdown, and Josh Chronister kicked a 35-yard field goal and 4 extra points for the Wildcats.

The 9-time Cavalcade of Bands Champions, Tournament of Bands Group IV Champion and US Scholastic Band Champion 59 member strong South Western Mustangs Marching Band put on a stirring half time performance, presenting their 2012 field show “Unity: A Natural Balance.” The show took us on a musical and visual exploration of the three natural forces among us: Water, Air and Land. The show opened with “Of Men and the Sea,” depicting the energetic role of water in our world. The raging water calmed us as we turned our eyes to the sky, then with a ballad highlighting the beauty and mystery of the night air and the “stars.” The show closed with the exotic sounds of the land in “Puma.” The 131 members strong Wildcats Marching Band put on a stirring post game show performing Music from Cirque Du Soleil’s La Nouba.

The 23 member strong Mustangs Cheer Leading squad and the Wildcats squad (expanded to nearly 50 members for Homecoming Week) were very impressive as they roused the faithful.

The Mustangs of South Western are 3-3-0 overall and 0-1-0 in York Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association (YAIAA) Division I league play.

The Mustangs have a career record of 340-209-8. The results of the 557 games played in the history of the South Western Mustangs are a career .619 winning percentage and a .625 non-losing percentage.

Next week the Mustangs visit the Panthers of Central York (3-3 overall, 0-1 league). Central York is coming off of a 41-34 loss to the Rockets of Spring Grove. The Mustangs are looking to get back on the winning track. GO MUSTANGS GO.